Robert Dunsmuir (August 31, 1825 – April 12, 1889), was a coal miner, railway developer, industrialist and politician. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Year 1825 ( MDCCCXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul, tycoon, baron, or industrialist, is a person who has reached a prominent place in A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person
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Origins in Scotland
Dunsmuir was born in Hurlford, Scotland to 20 year old James Dunsmuir and his wife Elizabeth[1] in 1825. Hurlford ( Scottish Gaelic: Baile Átha Cliath) is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Year 1825 ( MDCCCXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common At the time of his birth, his family was engaged in the coal business in his native Ayrshire. Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir ʃir̴əxg̊ iɲiɾʲˈaːɾʲ is a Registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, Dunsmuir's grandfather, Robert, had leased coal properties and bought out local competitors in the days before the arrival of the railway in the 1840s permitting him to increase prices. In 1832, in the midst of this prosperity, his mother, father, grandmother and two of his three sisters died within days of each other in a cholera epidemic which swept the area. Year 1832 ( MDCCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Three years later, grandfather Robert died a relatively wealthy man, leaving a third of his estate in trust for his orphaned grandchildren. Dunsmuir was schooled locally at the Kilmarnock Academy and then at the Paisley Mercantile and Mechanical School, a training helpful in the coal business. He then went to work in local coal mines under his Aunt's husband Boyd Gilmour.
On September 11, 1847, at the age of 22, Dunsmuir married 19 year old Joan White. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Eight days later, their first child, Elizabeth Hamilton was born. Their second child, Agnes, was also born in Scotland in 1849. Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
At the end of 1850, Dunsmuir's mentor, and his aunt's husband, Boyd Gilmour, had signed on with the Hudsons Bay Company to exploit a coal finding on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island at Fort Rupert (near present day Port Hardy). For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built and first commanded by William Henry McNeill in 1849 Port Hardy is a small community in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Because some of those who were to travel with him decided not to go upon hearing news of the conditions and prospects there, Gilmour sought replacements for his party at the last moment. On 24 hours notice of this opportunity, Dunsmuir signed on. They sailed on the Pekin, for Fort Vancouver, via Cape Horn, on December 19, 1850. Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Cabo de Hornos redirects here for the Chilean commune see Cabo de Hornos Chile. Events 324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor. For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link It took 191 days for them to arrive. Eight days later, on July 8, 1851, Joan Dunsmuir gave birth to their third child, James Dunsmuir. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year James Dunsmuir (b July 8, 1851, Fort Vancouver &ndash d June 6, 1920, Cowichan Bay British Columbia) was a British
Early years in British Columbia
On July 18, 1851 they set sail for Fort Rupert, [2] and when they arrived on August 9, the 3 year term on the contract with the Hudsons Bay Company began. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built and first commanded by William Henry McNeill in 1849 Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Gilmour struggled unsuccessfully to develop a producing coal operation at Fort Rupert until August 24, 1852 when Governor Douglas instructed them to move on to Nanaimo where a coal seam had been discovered. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar 's General Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in the Second Battle of the Bagradas River Year 1852 ( MDCCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Sir James Douglas, KCB, ( August 15, 1803 – August 2 1877) was a company fur-trader and a Work proceeded but living conditions were difficult. In 1854 when the term of their HBC contracts came up and Governor Douglas refused to increase their pay rates, Gilmour left to return to Scotland. Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Dunsmuir stayed on. He went on to propose to Douglas that he carry on personally with the operation of a seam that Gilmour had thought was played out. On October 12, 1855, Dunsmuir commenced work on his own account and within a month was producing seven tons of coal a day. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year This venture was a modest success, but as the seam ran out, Dunsmuir was again employed to operate a new pit that the HBC opened in 1860. Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting
Coal
The lease from the crown that gave the HBC the rights to all of the coal found on Vancouver Island ran out in 1859, requiring the company to purchase the 6,193 acres (25 km²) that made up its Nanaimo operation. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common With the new pit operational, the HBC sold its entire Nanaimo operation to the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company in September 1862 for $200,000. Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday Dunsmuir worked from time to time as Superintendent of that company and, as well, for the Harewood Coal Company of his friend Dr Alfred Benson, which failed to raise the capital it needed to exploit its claim.
Once the crown lease the HBC held expired in 1859, it had become possible for claims to be staked by others. In October 1860 Dunsmuir was fishing for trout at Diver Lake, a few miles north and west of Nanaimo, when he found a coal outcrop. Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting He staked a claim to 1,600 acres (6 km²) in a band 1,000 yards (1,000 m) wide and 4 miles (6 km) long including the north half of Diver Lake and running right to Departure Bay in the area known as Wellington. In order to stake a claim of this size, he was required to form a company, to be known as Dunsmuir, Diggle & Company. His sons James and Alexander and some others were partners but signed off once the legal requirement of partners in the venture had been met. Wadham Diggle, commander of the naval vessel Boxer, one of the first to use Dunsmuir's coal, invested $8,000 in the venture. Rear Admiral Arthur Farquhar, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet invested a further $12,000. The two investors left the operation of the company to Dunsmuir. By 1873 the Wellington colliery was producing 16,000 of the 40,000 tons produced on Vancouver Island. Year 1873 ( MDCCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common By the end of 1875, Dunsmuir was producing 50,000 tons per year. Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Its two principal markets were San Francisco and the Royal Navy. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The company bought out Farquhar in 1879 and in 1883 Diggle was paid $600,000 for his half share of the business, then producing a profit of $500,000 per year. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Railway
- Further information: E&N Railway
Dunsmuir was one of the founders of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Company which built the rail line from Esquimalt to Nanaimo, later extended to Victoria and Courtenay. The City of Esquimalt (ɨsˈkwaɪmɔlt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Victoria (vɪkˈtɔɹiə is the capital city of British Columbia. Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. His company received a grant of land comprising 20% of Vancouver Island as an incentive to build and equip the railway line to be owned and operated by the company. Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British
Politics
Dunsmuir was elected to the BC Legislature representing Nanaimo in the 1882 election while away on a European holiday, and was re-elected in 1886. The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor Nanaimo is a provincial Electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. This was the third election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20 1871. This was the fourth election held after British Columbia became a province of Canada on July 20 1871. Dunsmuir died at Victoria, British Columbia while still in office. Victoria (vɪkˈtɔɹiə is the capital city of British Columbia.
Craigdarroch
- Further information: Craigdarroch Castle
The home he built for his wife Joan Olive (White) Dunsmuir in Victoria, British Columbia is called Craigdarroch Castle and is today a popular tourist destination. This article is for the Canadian mansion For the Scottish house see Craigdarroch. Victoria (vɪkˈtɔɹiə is the capital city of British Columbia. This article is for the Canadian mansion For the Scottish house see Craigdarroch.
Legacy
Thirty-eight years after arriving at the Colony of Vancouver Island as an indentured $5 a week miner for the Hudson's Bay Company, he died the richest man in British Columbia in sole control of an empire estimated to be worth $15 million. See main article Vancouver Island Vancouver Island (officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies was a Crown colony of British [3]
His son James Dunsmuir became Premier of British Columbia and later, Lieutenant-Governor of the province. James Dunsmuir (b July 8, 1851, Fort Vancouver &ndash d June 6, 1920, Cowichan Bay British Columbia) was a British A premier is a title for the Head of government in some countries British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C A Lieutenant Governor is a high officer of state whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division.
See also
External links
Sources
- Daniel Francis (Editor) (1999). This article is for the Canadian mansion For the Scottish house see Craigdarroch. James Dunsmuir (b July 8, 1851, Fort Vancouver &ndash d June 6, 1920, Cowichan Bay British Columbia) was a British The Dunsmuir House and Gardens is located in Oakland California on a 50 acre site Encyclopedia of British Columbia. The Encyclopedia of British Columbia is an encyclopedia first published in 1999. Harbour Publishing. ISBN 1-55017-200-X.
- Reksten, Terry (1991). The Dunsmuir Saga. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 0-88894-742-9.
- Donald F. MacLachlan (1986). The Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway - The Dunsmuir Years: 1884-1905. The B. C. Historical Railway Association. ISBN 0-9692511-0-6.
- Margaret A. Ormsby (1958). British Columbia: A History. MacMillan: Vancouver.
References
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